


Cuss the Bloodshed

by wisdoms_daughter0704



Category: Veronica Mars - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/M, Fix-It, season 4 canon
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-07-26
Updated: 2020-02-26
Packaged: 2020-07-22 20:14:20
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 5
Words: 4,049
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19991908
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wisdoms_daughter0704/pseuds/wisdoms_daughter0704
Summary: Veronica's epiphany comes 45 seconds sooner, and instead of going to the window, she rushes to the back gate.Fix-it fic because Rob Thomas is a whore. Just because Veronica and Logan are happy and together does not mean she can't be an underdog. She deserved better. Jason Dohring deserved better. (The working title for this was 'Fuck Rob Thomas' if that tells you anything about how I feel.)





	1. Why do we have to have bloodshed?

The ball of joy that had been floating in Veronica’s head since Logan had said “I do,” turned to molten lead in an instant and dropped down to the bottom of her stomach.  
Fiji. It wasn’t the sandwich shop. It was about a time delay on the bomb.

Veronica dropped the bag in her hands and sprinted down the hall and the stairs, leaving the door open. She flung the alley gate open, eyes wide and searching for Logan.

“Logan!” He turned around and looked at Veronica, smile wide across his face. When he saw the fear in her eyes, his face dropped and he ran back towards her, throwing his hand up to street cleaners who had gotten out to chide him. “Logan!” Veronica screamed again, willing him to run faster back to her.

“Hey! You have to move the car, or I gotta write a ticket.” Maybe there was annoyance in his voice, maybe there wasn’t, Veronica couldn’t tell. It was if everything was moving in slow motion, Logan wasn’t coming toward her fast enough. 

The cleaning guy came up to Logan and grabbed his arm, turning him away from her. Over the pounding of blood in her ears, she heard Logan yell at the guy, “Just write the damn ticket.” 

Logan turned and looked at Veronica and as their eyes met…BOOM.


	2. There are other people in the world, but I don't care right now

Veronica was bombarded with sensations almost immediately. Ringing ears. Face stinging. Pony’s tongue on her hands. Voices trying to shoo Pony away.

“Miss. Miss, can you call off your dog?” Veronica opened her eyes and saw a paramedic standing ten feet away. “Miss, we need to come check you out.”

“Logan.” The first word through her lips. “Logan.”

The paramedic came closer, and Pony growled. “Pony, get back. Go inside.” A tiny bit of pride swelled, knowing that Logan had trained Pony so well. Then her heart fell again, Logan.

“Can you stand, miss?” the paramedic, Stewart, read his name plate, asked. Veronica sat up, head reeling, but she held enough power to stand on her own. “Good, now we’re gonna walk over to the bus, okay?”

She held on to his arm, fighting to stay upright, but she had to ask, “What about the men? Standing on the street? What happened to them?” She strained to keep the panic out of her voice, but she could tell she wasn’t succeeding.

“One took quite a lot of shrapnel to the back, we’re trying to get him to the hospital as quick as possible, he didn’t look so good.” Veronica choked back a sob. “The other one took the brunt of the shrapnel to his legs, but he’s in and out of consciousness, the blast knocked him to the ground pretty hard. Did you know them?”

“One of them is my husband,” Veronica said, the word catching in her throat. “Tall, skinny, dark hair.”

“Do you want me to take you to him?”

“God, yes, please.” Veronica breathed, trying to contain emotion.

Stewart led her to an ambulance where there was someone being led in on a gurney. Veronica caught a glimpse of dark hair, and a bolt of energy shot through her, she sprinted towards it. The EMT loading him in stuck his hand out to stop her, “Sorry ma’am, we have to get him to Neptune General. You should probably make your way there too.”

“Yeah, no, see, I’m pretty sure that’s my husband and I’m riding with him.” He seemed surprised that the small blonde woman physically pushed past him into the ambulance.

In two steps she was at the head of the gurney, looking down at Logan’s bloodied face. “Logan,” she hesitated to touch his face, not knowing what the damage was. “Logan.” Her head fell onto cot next to Logan’s, and she let her sobs race through her.

“‘Ronica?” Her head shot up and her gaze was met with his chocolate eyes, face ringed in blood, but eyes full of life. “‘Ronica, are you okay?”

Veronica let out a shattered laugh, and moved her hand to cup his cheek, “Am I okay? You were the one at ground zero.” She scanned over his body for injuries, even though she knew it was useless, that the doctors would work on him when they got to the hospital. 

Her eyes came back up to meet his when the EMT barged in, “Ma’am, you can’t be here…”

Logan’s voice was barely above a whisper, but the both of them heard it just fine, “Sir, this is my wife.”

The EMT’s eyes darted back and forth between Veronica and Logan, before exhaling resignedly. “Fine, she can stay, but she has to sit to the side so we can assess you.”

“No,” Logan tried to say, but Veronica cut him off, “That’s fine, sir. Logan I’m not gonna leave you, okay? I’m just gonna sit right here.”

“Pony,” Logan said, and the EMT looked at him like he was insane.

“Shit, yeah, Pony’s fine, baby.” Veronica swore again mentally, then turned to the EMT, who she could see now was named Jones, “Do you guys have a phone? I need to call a couple people, but I don’t have mine.”

“Here’s your husband’s phone, will that work?”

She thanked Jones, and then rifled through Logan’s phone, looking for Matty’s contact. She pressed dial and turned to look at Logan, who was out again. _Man, shock is a bitch._

“Hello?” Matty’s voice rang from the phone.

“Matty, it’s Veronica.”

“Hey, Veronica, is everything okay?”

Veronica took a deep breath, “No, it’s not, really, but I need you to do me a favor before I explain everything.”

“Yeah, sure, Veronica, whatever you need.”

“Great, I need you to come pick up Pony and take him to my dad’s house. And park a couple streets away, or you won’t be able to park at all.”

“Sure thing. Are you going to tell me what’s happened or…”

“After a while, Matty. Right now I just need Pony out of the house.”

They said their goodbyes and then Veronica scrolled through the phone to find Wallace’s contact. She didn’t really have time for the conversation she knew would come so she sent him a message.

*Wallace, Logan and I are on our way to Neptune General, I’ll explain everything when I see you. -Veronica*

After that was sent she asked how close they were to the hospital, less than five minutes, and decided that was probably the best time to call her dad.

“Veronica, honey?” She could hear the worry in his voice. _He knows something._

“Dad, Logan and I are headed to Neptune Gen. There was another bomb in my car.” She heard the sharp intake of breath through the receiver. “I don’t have time to talk, we’re almost there, so just meet me there after Matty comes to see you, okay? I love you.”

“Veronica, wait-” but she ended the call before he could bombard her with questions.

The ambulance doors opened and Veronica was bombarded with bright lights and loud sounds, two things not very good for someone with a possible head injury.

While squinting into the light, Logan’s gurney was rolled out, and she could hear the doctors and EMT’s getting up to speed.

“White male, 33, sharp force trauma to the legs, possible concussion, stable.”

When Veronica tried to jump out of the ambulance, her legs buckled underneath her, and a nurse caught her before she reached the pavement.

“You’ll be okay, ma’am, just come with me.”

Her head was spinning again, making everything move at the wrong pace. _I can not have a concussion right now._ “No, I need to go with him, that’s my husband.”

“We’ll get you back together as soon as we can, but right now you need to be seen to as well.”

“No, LOGAN!” was all Veronica could say before the throbbing in her skull finally knocked her out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> How do y'all feel about dialogue heavy chapters? What I'm working on just seems to flow better without exposition, but if y'all need it, let me know.


	3. Hospitals are the Worst

When Veronica came to, the lights were more diffused, her head wasn’t throbbing nearly as bad, and she wasn’t wearing her bloodstained wedding dress anymore. Her hand flew to her head, and she felt the pull of the liquid bandages across her face.

“Easy there, VMars.” Wallace was sitting in the cramped hospital chair in the corner, putting down his phone. “Or is it VEcholls now?”

“Ha ha, very funny Wallace,” she retorted without thinking, then all the events of the bomb came rushing back to her and she sat up quickly, the blood racing from her head, “Logan. Where’s Logan, Wallace?”

“All right, Veronica,” Wallace said, his hands outreached in a calming gesture. “He’s a couple rooms down.” He saw her relax, and when she reached for her head, he handed her a cup of water. “He was in surgery for a couple of hours. They had to pull a lot of shrapnel from his legs.”

Veronica could feel her own breath start to quicken. _Calm down, Veronica, if you hyperventilate, they will never let you out to see Logan._ Just then her dad came bursting into the room.

“Veronica! Honey,” Keith came to the bed and wrapped her in a hug. _Still think physical contact will protect me from all evil, Dad?_ “What happened?”

Veronica steeled herself, took a deep breath, and launched into the thought process that happened about ninety seconds before her car blew up.

“It was the limerick. Logan and I were discussing how long it would take us to get to Sedona and time differences. What’s the time difference between Neptune and Fiji?” Keith and Wallace met her eyes with a blank stare that she knew mental math was the culprit of. “Five hours, guys. Five o’clock here is noon in Fiji.”

“That son of a bitch,” Keith murmured.

“Logan was going down to move the car for street cleaning when I realized it. I tried to get him to come back, but by that time, the cleaner enforcer was already there and he and Logan got into a fight and the bomb went off and…” Veronica finally took a breath, trying to keep in the emotional toil it was taking on her. _I’ll freak out when I’m back at home with Logan, not now._

At that point, a tall dark haired woman in a white coat came in, Veronica could only assume it was her doctor.

“Veronica Mars, how are we feeling today?” She never looked up from the chart she was holding in her hands.

“Um, I’m actually feeling pretty good. When can I be discharged?”

“Let’s not get ahead of ourselves, Veronica. You got a pretty bad bump on your head. Being blown back ten feet on large concrete steps will do that to you.”

_Great, I got the one doctor in Neptune who actually cares about her patients._ “I’m a little dizzy and sore, but I’ve had way worse before, so.”

She came over to Veronica’s bedside, and Veronica could read the name on her coat pocket, Dr. Jessie Pomroy.

“Dr. Pomroy? Any relation to Shelly Pomroy?” _Ignore the bile collecting in your throat, Veronica, you’ll just make an ulcer._

“She’s my sister-in-law. I married her older brother, Marcus. But I have heard a bit about you, Veronica over the last three years since ‘you ruined the best reunion ever’ as Shelly put it.” _Jessie, as much as I would love to talk shit with you about Shelly, I really would like to get out of this bed and go see my husband._ “Anyway, all of your reports seem to be good, but I would like to run a couple of tests of my own before we discharge you.”

“Sure thing,” Keith said from in the corner, and Veronica was pretty sure she saw Wallace putting his elbow into Keith’s ribs.

“Just look right here for me, Veronica,” Dr. Pomroy said as she shone a pen light in Veronica’s face, and she tried not to flinch when it made contact with her pupils. After that she prodded and the dozen or so shallow cuts on Veronica’s face that had been sealed with liquid bandage. “All right Veronica, you do seem to be doing quite well for someone as close to a bomb as you were, but it is late, so I’ll sign your discharge forms in the morning and you can leave then.”

“Or you could sign them now and I won’t leave.” Veronica tried to keep the edge from her voice, but she just wanted to see Logan.

“I’m sorry, I’m afraid I don’t understand.”

“Her husband was brought in from the same bomb,” Wallace broke in, stopping Veronica from jumping out of the bed. “They told us he was a few rooms down. She’s just anxious to be able to see him.”

“Ah, I understand now. Yes, the man in 333 has been calling for a Veronica, I guess no one put it together.”

_Calm, Veronica, calm._ “No one put it together?” Veronica snapped, _Shit_ , “I told everyone when I came in that I was his wife. I told them his name, my name, we even came in on the same bus, did no one think to talk to the EMT? Jones? I think his name was.”

“Veronica, honey,” Keith practically leapt over the medical equipment to sit beside her and calm her down. “I’m sure it’s not anybody’s fault. Hospitals are hectic places during emergencies.”

“Thank you, Mr. Mars,” Dr. Pomroy said, “Yes they are. I will be sure to see that everyone involved will be made aware of your connection, Veronica. But I am still not discharging you until the morning. You’ll just have to wait until then to see your husband.” And with that, Dr. Pomroy wrote something down on Veronica’s chart and left the room. _It seems that the holier than thou attitude isn’t just an inherited trait, you receive it as a wedding gift when you marry into the Pomroy family._


	4. Orders? What orders?

Veronica woke up sometime well after dark. Wallace had gone home, and Keith was sleeping in the window seat. She slowly sat upright, and turned to dismount the bed, only to feel a twinge in her hand as she did so. She looked down and saw the IV dangling from her wrist. Cuss. She’d seen enough medical dramas while she was with Piz to know that all one had to do was to grab the IV pole, so that what she did.

After a precursor search to see a skeleton crew of staff, Veronica opened her door and crept down the hall. _The man in 333, huh? Had no one known his name? This was still Neptune after all, and being the son of a movie star and murderer still garnered some notoriety fifteen years on._ 325, 327. _Not to mention the recent fame brush of Bonnie DeVille._ 329, 331. _Found it, 333._ She opened the door and her heart dropped out of her chest again.

Logan was there, legs wrapped in gauze, a rainbow of bruises mottled his normally tanned skin. Veronica had to hold back a sob. Slowly she closed the door behind her and brought her IV stand to the other side of the room so she could sit in the broken leather of the visitor’s chair. She reached for his hand, one of the few things that wasn’t bruised, and squeezed it tight, to make sure he was really there.

She was almost scared to oblivion when he turned his head and said, “Veronica?” Her eyes shot up to meet his, glazed over, but cognizant. _They had him on pain killers, Christ._

“Logan,” Veronica smiled, that hidden smile she only had for Logan, and she saw recognition flood his eyes. She brought his hand up to her lips and kissed it, never breaking eye contact. “Hi, baby. How are you?”

“You know I hate it when you call me baby, Ronnie.” His words weren’t slurred, but they were slow, like he had to think harder to make them form.

“You know there are only two people in the world allowed to call me Ronnie.”

“Yeah, and I’m one of them. I am your husband, remember?”

Veronica felt the tears threatening to overflow, “Yeah, hon, I remember.”

“They wouldn’t tell me where you were. I was scared. They had to knock me out.”

“Apparently no one listened to me when we came in. I had to sneak in here because my doctor won’t discharge me until tomorrow. But I won’t leave again, I promise. I’ll be here when you wake up.”

“That’s my ‘Ronica,” the words fell off his tongue as unconsciousness took him over. Veronica just scooted the chair closer to his bed, held on to his hand, and fell asleep too.


	5. Accusations and Resignations

“Excuse me!” a masculine voice rang out, causing Veronica’s entire body to shoot straight up, pulling at her IV. Shit. The back of her free hand rubbed across her eyes, trying to counteract the abrupt wake up call. She finally looked up to see a pudgy older man, face the color of kumquats and a scowl to scare the devil. “Who are you and what are you doing in this man’s room?” His gaze drifted over to the IV attached to her arm, “Why are you not in your own room?” 

He had started to charge her when Logan made to sit up, “Veronica?” 

Immediately, she forgot about the doctor and turned to look at Logan, “I told you I’d be here when you woke up. Did you doubt me?” 

“Never.” 

The dumbstruck doctor found his words again, “Sir, are you telling me you know this woman? She’s a patient.” 

“She’s also my wife,” Logan said, never breaking eye contact with her. 

A voice familiar to Veronica broke through the silence of Logan’s confession, “Miss Mars!” 

“Cuss.” Veronica swore under her breath, and Logan smiled. Veronica’s face morphed into one of contrition and guilt, “Doctor Pomroy.” Even in his drug-addled state, Logan had the clarity to both recognize the name and the significance it had to Veronica, eyebrows dropping down in a quizzical manner. 

“Miss Mars, I specifically remember telling you that you could not come down here until you had been discharged.” 

“Mrs.” Logan said, and both doctors and Veronica looked at him. “She’s Mrs. Mars, Dr. Pomroy.” 

“Apologies, sir. But she really does need to return to her own room until I can get all the discharge papers in order.” 

“Okay. Veronica, would you go back to your room until they let you come back?” Veronica’s mouth opened. Am I surprised at him speaking so clearly, or at the words he just said? “That way when you come back, you won’t have to leave again.” There he is. There’s my Logan. 

“Sure thing, honey.” Veronica stood up gently, as to not disrupt hers or Logan’s IV stand, and placed a gentle kiss on his forehead. She made her way back down the hall to her room, having to stop once to abate the nausea brought on by the jolt the IV had taken. 

Her eyes were on her feet as she walked back into her room, so she didn’t notice her dad standing there. “Welcome back, Veronica,” he said, voice gruff and warning. Veronica looked up to see Chief Langdon and a lieutenant she didn’t recognize standing next to Keith. 

The muscles in Veronica’s back tightened almost immediately, causing pain to shoot throughout her extremities, but clearly her concussion was still affecting her, because she took longer than anticipated to come up with an acceptable excuse for being out of her room. 

“Chief Langdon,” Veronica succumbed to her injury and didn’t fight the mental fatigue, “what brings you to my humble little abode?” 

“Miss Mars--” 

“It’s Mrs., actually.” Veronica didn’t even try to hide the smug look on her face. Mrs. Veronica Mars; God she loved Logan. 

“Yes, I had heard, Mrs. Echolls--” 

“No, no, it’s Mrs. Mars.” 

Marcia was frozen, startled, but composed herself and continued, “Mrs. Mars, I’m glad to see that you’re up and about, but I was told you would be in this room this morning.” 

“Yeah, sorry about that, Chief. I was checking on my husband, I was understandably worried.” Veronica tried not to look so smug, but she really couldn’t help it. 

“Very, understandable, Veronica,” Keith interjected, and came and walked her back to her bed to sit down. 

“Very,” Langdon grunted, “However I would like to speak to you about the bombing. Specifically, about why the bomb was in your car.” 

Veronica tried not to scowl visibly, but her brain and body still weren’t in complete sync yet. She steeled herself and managed not to tell the Chief exactly what she was thinking. “I’m not sure I understand.” 

“Well, Mrs. Mars, the analysts at the Bureau tell me that the device we found at the Kane school was inactive and nonlethal. The device itself wasn’t even a bomb, but just the casings and a timer that was rigged.” 

“Still not understanding, Marcia.” Veronica was losing patience. The longer the chief was here, the longer she would have to wait to have her discharge papers finished, and the longer she had to wait to get back to Logan. 

Clearly Chief Langdon picked up on Veronica’s tension, “Long and short of it, Veronica: the bomb at the Kane school wasn’t a bomb. You told us it was. Why were you so sure that it was?” 

Veronica was dumbfounded and shocked; she couldn’t blame her concussion on her inability to form a statement. Keith flew in, just as shocked, “What are you insinuating, Chief? Are you saying that Veronica made up the bomb threat? That Epner confessed to a fake bomb threat?” 

“Mr. Mars, I am only asking Veronica why Mr. Epner would confess and diffuse a bomb that he knew was inert.” Langdon didn’t seem to be irritated by Keith’s accusations, and replied flatly. 

“Maybe because he knew he was leaving the actual bomb in my car?” Veronica’s patience was not only gone, but it was replaced by anger and frustration. “His goal wasn’t to blow up the Kane school, it was to garner notoriety. He wouldn’t get any recognition if he was proven to be a fake, considering he actually did commit all the bombings after the Sea Sprite! He was literally just trying extend his fifteen minutes of fame as long as he could, spring breakers don’t really give a rat’s ass if other people are getting blown up, so if there aren’t bombs going off in front of them, “The Bomber” isn’t getting any attention. He knew we would figure it out and take him with us. He’s too damn narcissistic to allow himself to be blown up by his own fantasy. Penn Epner wasn’t stupid enough to leave an active bomb anywhere near where he was going to be. In fact, he’s so smart, I almost didn’t figure out the limerick before his actual bomb went off. In. My. Car.” 

“Mrs. Mars, I recognize that you’ve been through quite the ordeal these last few days, but I am just trying to work through why Mr. Epner would go through all this trouble to diffuse a bomb he knew wasn’t going to explode.” 

Veronica relaxed, not only because she could tell that she had struck a nerve with the Chief, but because she had also had decided herself that she wasn’t going to deal with Marcia anymore. She saw Doctor Pomroy lurking in the hall, and knew it was her way out. “I’ve already told you, Chief Langdon. Take what I said or leave it. If you have any further questions, you can route them through my attorney, Shae Fennell.” 

“Mrs. Mars, we’re not finished yet--” 

“Yes, I am. As you said, I’ve been through an ordeal and would really like to rest and get back to my husband. So if you aren’t satisfied with my responses, then you will have to meet up with me at a later date.” 

Chief Langdon looked stunned, and Veronica knew her battle was won. 

Then Jessie walked in and saved the day, “I’m afraid I’ll have to agree with Mrs. Mars, Chief Langdon. I need to run through a few procedures before I’m able to release her. You’re going to have to continue speaking with her at another time.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Honestly, this was just the cleanest chapter break I could find without there being a chapter three miles long. I'm not one for long scene breaks anyway.


End file.
